When Kai went through the spiraling flames, he immediately felt a sense of relief, as if his fatigue went away and his body became lighter. He noticed the trees around him. Their leaves were dyed blood red while their bark was pale as white snow. He knew the priest was something beyond human, that he came from a world beyond common sense, a world that’s not Earth.

It didn’t take long for trouble to find its way towards Kai once more. He sensed something coming from far away. He didn’t know what it was but it was approaching fast. He barely dodged by an inch of his hair. It was a silver katana that darted past and embedded itself onto the scarp face next to where the spiraling flame portal was.

While he was distracted and looking towards the embedded katana, the owner had suddenly came and sneaked behind Kai and when he looked behind him, the owner had already reached the far away embedded katana and easily pulled it out. Before Kai moved again, the owner reached him in an instant, as if teleporting and positioned the blade in front of Kai’s neck. His face gave away his emotions. The feeling of defeat once more, not long after he fought the priest. He Bit his lip in anger.

“Halt, Malefactor. Do not move an inch. You are currently under judgment of the High council for breaching the Orizen Peace Pact of Article 3 subsection A. Any and all usage of hollowpoints are forbidden. How do you plead?”

“I’m…Not guilty!”

A long deafening silence was only broken by the sound of birds chirping in the vicinity of the forest.

"How long have you stepped foot onto this world?"

"Only for a few minutes...."

“Mm..The blade senses the truth within your words. One door closes, a thousand opens.”

He pulls back sheaths his katana, “this discussion is not over, stay put."

The katana owner walked slowly towards the flaming portal he calls “hollowpoint”. He extended his arm and rotated his palm counterclockwise and soon the flames dissipated and disappeared. When he looked back towards Kai, he lifted up his hand and gestured with his fingers to come and Kai was instantly teleported in front of the katana owner.

“Now, we shall continue our discussion. I am Retsu Hayashi, a samurai guardian of the Orizen High Council. This blade is called ‘Raidachi’. He senses the truth and lies of everything through vibrations. You shall answer and we shall judge.”

“Wait…Retsu Hayashi? As in the forefather of the Hayashi clan? You died nearly 500 years ago. So is this the afterlife? Then why do you look so young? Didn’t you die of old age?”

"One question at a time. When one steps into Orizen, a soul's appearance is adjusted to their prime."

"That's cool, I guess I look the same cause im still in my prime."

“You know my name and history, correct? Then you are of earthly origins. What family do you hail from?”

“Kernarde, Kaiser Kernarde.”

“Listen well, young Kaiser. Yes, you could say this is the afterlife, but not entirely."

Retsu drew two circles on the ground. He explained that the inner circle is where Earth resides and the outer circle is the world of Orizen. When beings pass away, their souls are supposed to leave the Earth realm and enter the soul stream. The very nature of Orizen itself acts like a fishnet and catches souls going through and towards the stream regardless of their origin. Kai’s eyes grew wide in disbelief, but after everything he went through, it would be crazier if he didn’t believe any of it. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Then…am I dead? That can’t be true right? I just walked through that hollowpoint thingy.”

“No mortal body can enter this world. When you walk through, only your soul passes, leaving your body behind as an empty shell. Even if you walk back into the portal, your soul cannot enter your body as your organs begin to fail to function due to the separation.”

The Samurai was actually impressed by Kai. When a soul first walks into Orizen, it takes them a few days to solidify from an ethereal form. Yet from the first moment he saw Kai stepped in, he was already solidified. The samurai contemplates on taking him as his disciple.

“But…how am I supposed to save my sister’s soul then?! That priest! When he walked in, he didn’t leave a body. I thought we could just walk back.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The Samueai's ears perked up at the mention of a priest and his focus redirected towards that particular comment.

“Priest? What church did he say he was from?”

“Deigsir.”

“This is ominous. The Church of Deigsir has been an enemy in the past but they’ve never resorted to using hollowpoints and capturing souls.”

“Then it's even more urgent that i need to find her!” Kai tries to go but is pulled back by the Samurai.

“You cannot do anything even if you were to chase them down.”

"Then teach me! You're strong, you can teach me how to be strong as you!"

He clenched his fist, unable to say anything more. Was he useless to the point of being a hindrance? He couldn’t deny that. He couldn't even follow the Samurai's movements.

He recognized that expression on Kai's face. An expression he once had as a young student at his master's Dojo. Sentimental things those do not often move his heart. He doesn't understand why, but there seems to be something within Kaiser that compels the Samurai to help.

“What is your weapon of choice, young Kaiser?”

“My body?”

“While it is true that the body itself needs to be incorporated as a weapon, i am asking in a literal sense.”

“...My body…i'm a brawler, i use my flexibility and limbs to deliver blows to the enemies, so i use my legs but mainly my fists.”

“I understand, I may not be fully suited to teach you, but let me give you a lesson and following that, a demonstration.”

Kai nodded as he paid full attention to his new teacher.

“Everything that exists, holds an energy within. We call it ‘Ember’,” The Samurai held a falling leaf in his palm and made it vanish in a blink of an eye.

“You can collect the Ember of your surroundings, if you focus. The amount you take is limited by the willpower of your soul. I shall give you a small taste for your Ember to manifest.”

The Samurai extended his forefinger and emitted a visible flow of energy resembling a tiny yellow flame and placed it onto Kai's chest. The flames quickly seeped into his very being and caused immense pain. Bright green flames began to engulf and caress every fiber of his being.

“Aaaaah! Is it supposed to hurt like this?”

“Remarkable, your Ember is constantly breaking and repairing itself at an incredible speed. One would mistake you for an old soul.”

As the Samurai disengaged from contact, the green flames dissipated, while changing the color of his eyes from brown to bright green.

“Was that my Ember? Why is it a different color?”

“Every Ember is different in color for each person. The color itself does not hold meaning. What matters is the size and strength of your Ember. It seems like you hold a large amount of willpower. Do you feel it within you?

Kai senses the burning Ember in his core. He lets the flames course through his arm and reached his fist, engulfing it with flames.

“ I did it! This feels amazing!”

He quickly went into a fighting stance and threw a punch at one of the trees. Not knowing his own strength, caused several trees to be blown away as well.

“Your body seems to grasp things faster than your mind. It seems like there is no need for me to give a demonstration.”

“Yea, all im ever good at is fighting, so this is normal."

“i do not doubt you, young Kaiser. Yet, Controlling your Ember takes time, one which we do not have the luxury to spare. I shall go alone, I fear the worst for your sister if we do not intercept tje priest fast enough. Please, trust in me. In the meantime, I need you to head northwest of here, there will be a village. Show this crest and ask a favor for them to guide you towards Halcion city's Wanderers Guildmaster. Tell him the church is on the move and we need to take action. ” He hands over the crest to Kai.

“I understand. If this is all I can do for now, I'll do what I can, i will trust in my benefactor.” His bright green eyes showed signs of resolve and immeasurable warmth, alleviating the Samurai's heavy heart.

The Samurai didn't waste time and vanished, moving as fast as the wind and trying to catch up with the trail of the Priest. Meanwhile, Kai headed towards the village, trying to replicate his teacher's movement, only to fail and hit a tree.

Kai continously practiced his movement technique during his way towards the village. He moved one last time and accidentally hit and older woman inside of the village. Every able bodied guard in the village went on alert and surrounded Kai.

"Halt, Malefactor! You are to be judged by the Grant Elders!"

Kai nerveously sweats and held up his arms, "Not again......."